Publisher confirms Halperin book despite intense criticism

FILE – In this Aug. 11, 2016, file photo, author and producer Mark Halperin appears at the Showtime Critics Association summer media tour in Beverly Hills, Calif. A reported book deal for Halperin, the “Game Change” co-author and political commentator who has faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment, is being greeted with widespread outrage. Politico announced Sunday, Aug. 18, 2019, that Halperin’s “How To Beat Trump” was expected in November. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

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NEW YORK (AP) — Mark Halperin’s planned book about the 2020 election has been officially announced amid protests that the “Game Change” co-author hasn’t earned a second chance since facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

Regan Arts announced Monday that “How To Beat Trump” will come out in November. It draws upon the input of dozens of Democratic party strategists, among them Donna Brazile and David Axelrod. Reports Sunday of the book’s publication were met with numerous denunciations , with former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson calling the news “a slap in the face to all women” and others condemning the participation of Brazile and others.

Axelrod and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm are among those expressing regret about their decision to work with Halperin. Representatives for CBS, NBC, ABC and CNN all have told The Associated Press that Halperin will not be appearing on any of their programs.

Regan Arts founder Judith Regan said in a statement that she did not “in any way, shape, or form condone” Halperin’s behavior.

“I have also lived long enough to believe in the power of forgiveness, second chances, and offering a human being a path to redemption,” she said. “‘How To Beat Trump” is an important, thoughtful book, and I hope everyone has a chance to read it.”

Halperin was a best-selling author and high-profile political commentator before numerous women alleged in 2017 that he had made crude sexual advances, leading to the cancellation of a book deal he had with Penguin Random House and to his firing by Showtime and NBC News. Halperin apologized for causing “pain and anguish,” but also contended that some allegations were not true.

Regan has a history of taking on books that have inspired enraged responses. In 2006, she announced plans to publish O.J. Simpson’s “If I Did It,” billed as a fictionalized confession to the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. The book was soon cancelled and by the end of the year Regan had been fired by News Corp., where for years she had her own imprint. She launched Regan Arts in 2013, and had attracted far less attention in recent years.

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